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It only takes a few steps to have a more organized life! So go ahead Get rid of your junk!

Steps

1

Start small- just a few minutes each day will make a big difference.

2

Put down the credit card. All this stuff came from somewhere. Try to enact some measures to stem the flow. A very good method of preventing impulse buys is to use cash and only bring enough for your planned purchases. Not only will you buy less junk - you will save your money!

3

Make good use of Ebay, Amazon, and Craigslist. What is junk to you may be valuable to someone else.

Join Kashless, and also see if your area has a Freecycle group. These are locale-based free exchange groups where people post items that they no longer need, but that might still have use or value for someone. No cash/barter allowed.

6

Donate what you can't or don't want to sell. It can be tricky, but if you take the time to find a charity that you really support, you will always know where to send your stuff.

7

Check with Earth 911 to determine how to throw away the rest. Earth 911 can search for nearby places to take all your donations, recyclables, and hazardous waste. If Earth 911 doesn't have anything to say, you can take it to the dump with a totally clean conscience.

8

Be decisive. If you haven't used something in several years, get rid of it!

Tips

Don't shop too much and buy things you won't use.

Don't accept too many things from people.

Don't forget the yard.

Your stuff isn’t you. Try not to let what you have and acquire define who you are. Also, try not to attach too many emotions to your things. Take millions of pictures if you have to, but keep the love in your memories.

Warnings

Look carefully when throwing your things away or selling them. You could get rid of something very special to you and you probably won't be able to get it back!

Be sure to properly dispose of toxic items like batteries, fluorescent (CFL) light bulbs, electronics, paint, and other hazardous waste. If you are uncertain whether or not something is hazardous waste, or don't know what to do with it, check with Earth 911

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wikiHow is a “wiki,” similar to Wikipedia, which means that many of our articles are co-written by multiple authors. To create this article, 18 people, some anonymous, worked to edit and improve it over time. This article has also been viewed 34,450 times.